1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital image processing technique, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for processing breast images and detecting cancer in breast images.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mammography images and identification of abnormal structures in mammography images are important tools for diagnosis of medical problems of breasts. For example, identification of cancer structures in mammography images is important and useful for prompt treatment and prognosis.
Reliable cancer detection, however, is difficult to achieve because of variations in anatomical shapes of breasts and medical imaging conditions. Such variations include: 1) anatomical shape variations between breasts of various people or between breasts of the same person; 2) lighting variations in breast images taken at different times; 3) pose and view changes in mammograms; 4) change in anatomical structure of breasts due to aging of people; etc. Such medical imaging variations pose challenges for both manual identification and computer-aided detection of cancer in breasts.
Breast shapes, and structures inside breasts are important features in mammography images. Accurate breast shapes may convey significant information relating to breast deformation, size, and shape evolution. Inaccurate breast shapes, on the other hand, may obscure abnormal breast growth and deformation. Mammography images with unusual or abnormal breast shapes pose challenges when used in software applications that process and compare breast images. Non-uniform background regions, tags, labels, or scratches present in mammography images may also obscure or change the breast shapes and create problems for detection of cancer in breasts.
Disclosed embodiments of this application address these and other issues by using methods and apparatuses for cancer detection based on a shape modeling technique for breasts and using a probabilistic atlas for cancer locations in breasts. The methods and apparatuses generate an image for probability of cancer in a breast image using a probabilistic atlas. The methods and apparatuses detect cancer in breasts by representing shapes of breasts using a shape model, and comparing shape modeled breasts. The methods and apparatuses can be used for detection of other abnormal structures in breasts using a probabilistic atlas for locations of abnormal structures in breasts. The methods and apparatuses can be used for detection of abnormal structures or cancer in other anatomical parts besides breasts, by using probabilistic atlases for locations of abnormal structures or cancer formation in anatomical parts.